Thursday, July 10, 2014

Home Sweet Home(s?)

^^at my Aunt's home in Vermont- one of my most favorite places in the world

I'm down at my parents' house for the week and boy, it is HOT. There have been times Hank and I have thought "hmm...maybe it would be nice to live in Phoenix," but then I actually spend some time in the heat and I don't know if I could do it. The mild winters almost make up for it, but overall I think it would definitely take some getting used to. Although it's funny- my family and I moved to Arizona when I was in junior high and I spent about 6 years in the desert heat until I moved up north for college, and I don't recall ever being super uncomfortable in the high temperatures (it can get up to 115º+ down here!).

I've been thinking about this though, because one of my best girlfriends is moving away to Chicago and we're having a going away party for her this weekend, so the topic of calling other/new places home has been on my mind. I absolutely love where we live, as evidenced by how much I talk about it, but I often wonder if there are other places we could happily call home. Hank's traveled the US many times and visited almost every state, and he has always said how much he loves Prescott but that he could also see himself living in the Pacific Northwest or Hawaii. As for me, I could see us living in our small town forever, but I think I would also love living in a small lake or beach town. After growing up by the Jersey Shore I'd say that's the major thing I miss living here in Arizona- it makes me sad sometimes that our kids won't grow up swimming in the ocean all summer long.

Another place I could see us calling home is Vermont. My Aunt lives in Shelburne, which is one of my favorite places, and Hank and I both fall in love a little more everytime we go. It's such a special place, and to me just exudes such a happy, earthy vibe I can't help but want to immerse myself in. Other places I love: in and around Salem, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and upstate New York. Noticing an East Coast theme?

It's funny though, as fun as it is to daydream about other places I'm not sure if I would ever want to leave where we live now. It's pretty perfect for us, and I think I would always be searching for someplace just like it. You never know what the future holds, but I do think when you have a good thing it's best to hold onto it- the grass might not always be greener, right?

So how about you? Where do you live, and could you see yourself living there forever? Do you have certain places in your mind that you could see yourself calling home? And are you someone who could live in the same place your whole life, or do you like to change it up now and again? Feel free to chime in below- can't wait to hear your thoughts. xoxo

34 comments:

I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life. Mostly in the areas of Portland OR, and Vancouver, WA. My whole family is in this area. We are now relocating in the fall to Dallas, TX for my husbands job. It's exciting and scary and sad all at once. We have 2 little ones and it will be an adventure for sure. I know it will be terrible difficult to leave family, but we gotta go where the work is!

I actually live in Chicago! I love it here, but I'd really love to eventually move to New England where my boyfriend is from (I totally get the desire to move to the northeast!) I could also see myself heading back to Austin, TX which is where I lived before landing in Chicago. It's such a great city and I miss it terribly.

I was born in the desert of Southern California, but we moved up here to Oregon when I was 12 so I consider myself a Pacific Northwest native since I've lived more of my life here. I can only imagine myself here or upper east coast like the places you noted. I need mountains and trees, all four seasons and easy access to the ocean!

We just moved to the PNW (Portland to be exact) in January 2013 and we are loving it here. It instantly felt like home to us. I grew up in Vermont (Colchester/Burlington) and lived there from birth -19 then went of to university in Madrid, Boston, Fredericton NB and then my husband and I actually lived in Vermont for 4.5 years after getting married in Spring of 2008 until we finally moved west. While I do love Vermont there is a lack of opportunity as well when it comes to work and such. I do have to say I miss living in VT due to the proximity to Boston, NYC, and Maine. When we first moved to Portland I thought we'd live here for maybe 6-8 years but now I can see us living here for much longer.

I've always thought about moving somewhere. Phoenix is okay now and then but UGH, the heat, the spread-out-ness of it... We live in the Arcadia area where there's big trees and yards and nice neighbors so that helps a bit but we've been looking into Flagstaff, if not permanent, then for the summer! Saving up for that day hopefully soon. My ideal location would be northern San Diego county but it may be hard to maintain a certain lifestyle with the price of living there! Maybe one day ;)

I've always thought about moving somewhere. Phoenix is okay now and then but UGH, the heat, the spread-out-ness of it... We live in the Arcadia area where there's big trees and yards and nice neighbors so that helps a bit but we've been looking into Flagstaff, if not permanent, then for the summer! Saving up for that day hopefully soon. My ideal location would be northern San Diego county but it may be hard to maintain a certain lifestyle with the price of living there! Maybe one day ;)

I go back and forth almost every day. We're currently living in Virginia and although I can see us moving farther South, I also can't imagine leaving sometimes. It's so hard to decide where to settle and plant roots.

I've heard fabulous things about Vermont! It sounds like the hippie state of the East Coast, which is definitely more my vibe. I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area my whole life and truly love it here (some cities more than others). Sometimes I feel like moving outside of California is just one of those things I SHOULD do like eat my vegetables, but I could also see it never happening. If I moved anywhere, it'd probably still be on the west coast like Oregon or Washington.

I've lived in good ol' Florida my whole life (30 now) and am ready for a change. I dated someone who lived in Michigan for a year, and through my many visits out there I have fallen in love with the Southwest Michigan area, specifically Saint Joe and wouldn't mind calling it home!! I love the quaint small town-ness of it!

I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and I have all my life. I've recently had some wanderlusty thoughts about what it's be like to live somewhere else, though! I love the mountains, so Tennessee or Colorado come to mind. We've talked about moving to Georgia but I'd personally like to escape the oppressive humidity and heat we get in the Southeast. Who knows?!

I've lived in Orlando, FL my entire life (well except for the 3 yrs I moved to a small beach town an hour away -- but what's an hour?) Recently my best friend moved from here to TX and we talk about all the things she misses and it makes me think how I could never leave those things...from friends to Publix (southern grocery store chain) to the geography (we have tons of water - lakes, springs, rivers and obviously the beach) to the theme parks. I can't see myself somewhere else but never say never right! My husband and I discuss possibly going up to Pittsburgh (where he's from) one day but then we think about the winters and we change the subject pretty fast. Ha!

My husband and I have gone back and forth about moving for years. We've both called Pennsylvania our home for almost our whole lives, but being born near Boston, we always falls in love again when we visit my family. We've also pictured ourselves in the Pacific Northwest, even though we've never been, it just feels like it might fit us. This is home though, because of everyone around us who makes it so and I know if we got the guts to pack up our family and move, we'd miss them terribly. So I distract myself and try to find beauty in what is around us (it's sometimes hard in PA and other times not so much). Mostly, we just have a very long list of places to see one day. ;)

Well I'm the first international! I live in Tasmania, Australia, which is the smaller and most southern state, lived here my whole life and after travelling around Australia quite a lot, am happy to stay here! It's a great place to bring up my kids even if the weather gets a bit cold and miserable sometimes, I love how we experience every season whereas a lot of Australia is just hot and then 4 weeks of "cold"

I live in North Carolina and I have since I was 4 1/2. My husband is from Philadelphia and he is constantly wishing he was back there. We also dream about moving to Austin, Texas some day. I am not attached to my city, but I am attached to the comforts I have always known from here.

Montana here! I live in billings, the largest city in Montana, about 160,000. Love it here, grew up here, went away for college and came back! Sometimes I wonder about living somewhere else, but I'm mostly content with raising our little boy here.

I actually grew up in a Mesa and hated it my whole life. I do not like the heat. At all. Four years ago we moved to Huntington Beach, CA and I can honestly see us living here for quite a long time. There is so much to do here, and the weather actually permits outdoor activities, unlike AZ, where I would essentially lock myself indoors all summer long. It's a 15 min bike ride to the beach, 5 min bike ride to the nearest park/nature preserve, we are within an hour of LA, and the schools here are fantastic. I cannot fathom ever moving back to AZ. Heck, I haven't even been back to visit in 3 years!

I live in Upstate New York in a small town called Troy. There is something happening here that we all can't describe, but it's happening- for the better! I never left once coming for college and can't imagine calling another place home. I too traveled the states and compared everything to Upstate- we are a short drive to the Adirondacks and a day trip from the city. It's the best!

I am from and currently live in Glasgow, Scotland. I have done loads of travelling over the years as well as lived overseas. Before I left for my big backpacking trip I assumed I wouldn't end up staying somewhere but I didn't; I lived in Syndey, Australia for six months but decided I preferred Glasgow! I also lived in South Korea for two years, and while it was a great experience, I wouldn't ever call Asia home. I love the USA and could live in many cities there, NYC, LA, Austin, Washington DC, but I think the quality of life is better in the UK; we have the NHS and four weeks holiday! I have thought of moving to London but the rent is crazy and you would need a really well paid job to have any quality of life. I recently went to Berlin which is an amazing city and actually not too expensive. At the moment I would say that would be top of my list.

I live at the Jersey Shore! And I looove our beaches and our ocean and how warm it is in the summer. I love the feel of the ocean towns and I love how close we are to so many major cities. I love that every band tours through here and there are a million malls. But I HATE the winters. The winters are too brutal and too long... so I've decided to move to Florida within the next few years. It's really scary and I'm worried I'll miss where I'm from but I'm just not happy with the weather. Phoenix would be my #1 choice of where to move if only it was closer to the Ocean. I can't imagine living far from the Ocean, I think I'd get claustrophobic from being so land locked! I didn't know you were from the Jersey SHore!

I was born and raised in the suburbs outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I love the city and I enjoy the excitement of it all, however, both my parents are from small towns (my mom from a tiny town in West Virginia and my dad from a farm in the mountains of North Carolina) and I'm drawn to that feeling where the owner of the local diner knows you by name and you can have casual conversations with your grocer without the person behind you rushing you through. My boyfriend's grandfather lived in Prescott, Arizona for many years and my boyfriend grew up visiting there all the time. I have fallen in love with it through his stories and through your blog and we actually plan to visit next year. It seems like a gorgeous place to raise kids and a place I could definitely feel comfortable calling home.

I grew up in a teeny town in Kansas. I always just knew in my heart of hearts that I was really a city girl at heart. So I moved to Kansas City during and after my college years. Yadda yadda yadda, I've since moved to a much, much smaller town back in the middle of Kansas. It's a huge downgrade from the city and a huge upgrade from my hometown. And you know, I think I was wrong when I was younger. I am not a city girl. I wouldn't want to move to any town larger than McPherson, Kansas. It's perfect for me. I do day dream about buying a farm house out in the country. Getting chickens and a garden and a clothesline. But I'm pretty confident that my heart always belongs smack dab in the middle of Kansas.

I grew up in England and I've only been living in New Jersey for the past year; it doesn't quite feel like home yet but it's getting there! Things are much more extreme here than where I grew up - the food, the weather, it's all so much -more- than I'm used to. I hope that we'll make the move back to England at some stage in the future because that's where I truly feel at home, and it'll be an exciting adventure for our little family too, to experience living both sides of the Atlantic.

I grew up in north Florida and my husband is from a small town in south Georgia. Neither ever felt like home to us; we just recently moved down to Tampa, Fl (with no family within 200ish miles!) and love it down here. We've talked a lot about moving to different places. We've decided to go where the wind takes us. We'll probably eventually end up in California or the PNW. And we'd love to move abroad once we retire.

Growing up, I knew hardly anything about Asia. Specifically, Japan. The thought of the place was so otherworldly to me. When my parents got orders to Okinawa when I was 11, I didn't think much of it and I actually hated my first couple of years on that tiny island. Now, I can't imagine calling another place home. It was a place that was sort of forced upon me, and I am so glad. This incredible country has given me so much, including my little family & I feel like it is so much a part of me now. If we could, we would stay here forever & raise our children here. This experience makes me wonder if other countries could feel just as "right"

i'm originally from a small town in the south of the netherlands, on the boarder of belgium and germany, but currently live in utrecht (nl). i absolutely love living there and can see myself growing old here, but since i'm still a student, i just don't know what the future will bring. there are many cities throughout the world i would love to have lived in at one point, and it is also partly dependent on work possibilities. after six years, i will have to say my student life goodbye, and i hope to live in all kinds of places all over the world in the years to follow. but in the end, i do definitely see myself settling in the netherlands. we'll see how it goes :)xo, cheyenne

Grew up in sunny southern CA. Met my husband and had two boys. Realized that we wanted a simpler life. Small towns. Nice people. Affordable housing. We made the move to Austin TX and it is amazing here. We now live just outside of Austin in a small town "Hutto". It's know as the Hippo town. Long story. We ache for family but, we have a wonderful life. Nature. Wide open spaces and swimming holes. Life is calmer. Its not about what you wear, what you have , it about who you are. I think we pretty much have put down some roots but, we love adventure so.....

New Jersey has always been "home" but it doesn't feel like it. It's just so crowded and negative. Steve and I want to move somewhere we can own a small farm basically! We want a much more peaceful lifestyle that just isn't in this state.

Oh my gosh, Dani! (Can I call you that?) I've lived my whole life in Oregon, and now at the age of 32 my husband and I are considering a move to New Jersey. We just got back yesterday from a weekend there visiting a potential job. It's such a scary proposition! Sometimes when I think about it I get really excited, and other times I get terrified and wonder how I could ever leave our house in Portland - the place where we got our first cat, had our baby, bought grown up furniture, and hosted family and friends. I don't know what we are going to do.

I live in Boston via San Diego and Reno and never thought I would stay here for good, but as the story goes, I met a Boston boy, got married and decided that this is actually the perfect place to grow our careers and raise our babies. Now, I can't see myself living anywhere else, except during the winters, when I happily see myself anywhere BUT here!

I grew up in Sacramento, CA., but moved to the Pacific NW (SW Washington) when I was 10 years old. I always consider California "home" even though I've lived away from it longer than I lived in it. My husband and I just spent a week in the Tucson area and are considering a move there as well - we love the Arizona heat and have family there. We are also now considering a move to Virginia to be closer to other family and our work. It's a big change, if it happens, and I feel nervous and excited about it. Nervous to leave a place I "know" but excited about an adventure. I'll go anywhere and make it "home".